Stew For Lunch Stuff 7-30-2012

Trivia

In ancient Rome, a trivium was an intersection of three roads (tri, “three” + vium, road).When people met at a trivium, what did they tend to do? According to the Romans, they would shoot the breeze and discuss trivialis (“inconsequential things”) – which eventually helped give trivia its modern meaning.

Our bozo for today from Peoria Arizona may be a criminal in the eyes of the law but we can certainly sympathize with his actions. Peoria police were called to a band camp where 52 Peoria high school students were practicing until late in the evening. According to reports, our unidentified bozo got out of his vehicle waving a gun and yelled at the students, “Stop making noise! Morning and afternoon is OK, but nighttime is not.” He then then got back into his car and left. Police are still looking for our bozo. No word on whether evening practices have been curtailed.

Man admits making up story to get rid of snake

By Reuters

REUTERS FILE

VIENNA – An Austrian applauded for capturing a 2.3-metre (7.5-foot) boa constrictor he said he discovered on a riverbank has admitted he made up the story to get rid of a pet snake he found too big to handle, an animal rescue group said on Thursday.

“It turns out he could not get to grips with the snake and wanted to get rid of it this way,” said Susanne Hemetsberger, head of the Austrian Animal Protection Association. The owner handed over the reptile to an animal shelter.

She said in hindsight the tale originally told by the Salzburg man, who has not been identified, that he had happened upon and bagged the 7-kg (15.5-pound) boa last week, seemed suspicious.

“No passer-by who isn’t familiar with snakes would ever grab a boa constrictor. On the contrary, they would scream, run away and call the police,” she said.

The man has two other two-metre snakes that he wants to give away as well, Hemetsberger said.

“The snake owner dished up one lie after another and I hope he gets the proper punishment for this. He can’t just release a snake and then pose as its finder,” she said, calling for curbs on the sale of exotic pets that inexperienced owners often find overwhelming.